


It's Hardly Your Usual Kind Of Puzzle

by akamww3



Series: Advantages [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Married Mollcroft, Mollcroft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 07:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5408513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akamww3/pseuds/akamww3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>A late summer evening with the Holmes family ...</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Hardly Your Usual Kind Of Puzzle

“This is basically legwork, you know.”

_“Hmm.”_

“It’s sort of like breaking in a new agent … helping him get his feet wet … holding his hand on his first mission.”

_“Hmm.”_

“Definitely below your paygrade.”

An exasperated sigh replaced the seemingly absent-minded humming.

“Of course, you _do_ get to flash your pert bottom at me.”

 _“Molly,”_ a naked Mycroft Holmes finally said, rolling his eyes as he stepped out of the shower after checking the water’s temperature and changing the showerhead’s setting to a gentle rain. “Just give him to me.”

“Be good for your daddy and don’t do anything to alarm him,” Molly said in swiftly shifting tones of voice and with exaggerated facial expressions as Michael stared fixedly at her, then she kissed the baby’s forehead and handed him over. She watched as Mycroft held Michael against his chest, skin to skin, supporting the baby’s head with one hand and cupping his little bottom with the other. “I know Michael loves his baths, but he may not like the shower.”

“He’ll be fine, Molly,” Mycroft assured her as he stepped sideways, keeping his back between the baby and the stream of water, then cocked his head so he could see Michael’s face. The baby’s eyes suddenly widened when the warm water sprinkled over him, but he looked happy enough. Mycroft’s eyes lifted to Molly’s as he added, drily, “We can take it from here, _M.”_

Molly wrinkled her nose at his flippancy, then hovered for several moments after shutting the shower door. “All right … I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Taking three-and-a-half-months-old Michael into the shower was less for the purpose of bathing than to see how he reacted. Mycroft gently ran a soft, soap-free flannel over the baby’s back and legs and then partially turned to let water trickle more freely over him. Michael briefly lifted his head, then rubbed his face against his father’s chest - and suddenly sneezed as the chest hair tickled his nose. Mycroft huffed a laugh and turned away from the water stream again, talking continually to Michael while carefully turning him around to be back to chest. When Mycroft ran the flannel over the baby’s torso and limbs, Michael waved his arms and legs and batted at the water with a closed fist. Mycroft again partially turned into the water flow, the baby made a gurgling noise, and then … “Michael, my boy,” Mycroft said wryly, "your mummy would tell you peeing in the shower is definitely not a done thing.”

“Nope, his mummy’s not particularly bothered by that,” Molly said, slowly opening the shower door. “Are you finished?” She leaned into the shower, carefully avoiding the water, and waited until she caught the baby’s eyes. “Wasn’t that fun, sweetie?” she asked excitedly. Michael cooed back at her, legs and arms waving in excitement, and gave her a gummy smile. “He’s smiling, Mycroft,” she said, returning the baby’s smile with a goofy one of her own.

Molly moved away from the shower door to get a soft, dry towel to wrap the baby in. Mycroft kept a secure grip on Michael until the transfer to Molly was completed, then shut the door and changed the showerhead’s setting to a harder spray to finish his own wash.

~~~~~

Molly carefully dried Michael, put on his nappy and got him dressed for bed, then gently dabbed his hair dry with another towel before carrying him across the hall. She pulled down the room-darkening shades to block the bright sunlight that was still streaming through the windows at almost eight o’clock that late-August evening.

Once they’d settled in the rocking chair, Molly pulled up her T-shirt and lowered the left cup of her nursing bra. Molly was trying to establish a bedtime routine for Michael so she softly talked and sang while he nursed to keep him awake until she put him in his cot. When he was finished, she read to him from a large picture book of nursery rhymes and he played with his fingers and occasionally babbled back at her. Mycroft came in while she was still reading and sat in the club chair beside them. About ten minutes later, Michael was looking drowsy so Molly rose to her feet, held him out to Mycroft for a goodnight kiss, then kissed his cheek herself and placed him on his back in the cot. They hovered over the cot for several minutes, but Michael surprisingly drifted off to sleep without any fuss.

Molly raised her eyebrows at Mycroft, then picked up the baby monitor, quietly left the room and headed downstairs with Mycroft following close behind. After they finished eating supper, Mycroft took the monitor with him to the study, and Molly went upstairs to have a leisurely soak in her tub. An hour later, she appeared at the study door, still flushed from her bath, wearing a short, loose, cotton-knit chemise because of the evening’s warmth … and certainly _not_ because Mycroft could see the outline of her figure through the thin white material. Her flush darkened as his gaze slowly moved from her feet and up her body until their eyes met.

“I’m going to bed,” Molly said, then cleared her throat as she rubbed the bottom of one bare foot over the top of the other. “Will you be working much longer?”

Mycroft was shutting down his laptop before she finished asking the question.

~~~~~

“This is definitely legwork.”

_“Mmmm.”_

“It’s exhibiting physical endurance … showing a willingness to go under covers … to lie back and think of England.”

_“Mmmm.”_

“Definitely taking one for Queen and Country.”

A ragged gasp replaced the moaning.

“Of course, you did get to flash your pert bottom at me.”

 _“Mycroft!”_ Molly said, digging her fingers into his shoulders as she wrapped her legs more tightly around him. “Shut up and _kiss_ me.”

“Oh at the very least.” Mycroft’s mouth quickly covered Molly’s, brushing the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips before slipping between them. As the kiss deepened, he ran his hands up the back of her thighs and hitched her legs higher to increase the tilt of her hips.

“Oh _god,_ Mycroft,” Molly gasped when their lips finally parted and he nibbled his way down her neck. “You’re absolutely _brilliant_ at legwork.”

“I can still rise to the occasion when the situation calls for it,” Mycroft murmured against the hollow of her throat, then slowly smiled when Molly simply laughed under her breath and pulled him closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few scenes that came to mind and prompted me to try writing something _short_ last night since I don't have much free time right now. It was difficult to keep it short, but - shockingly - it's actually possible! Next time, I'll probably be back to my usual long-windedness. :)
> 
> ETA: I _love_ reading and responding to comments so please do let me know your thoughts if you feel like it and have the time!! I could talk about Mycroft/Mollcroft all day. :)


End file.
